Olympic Commentators - Tom Hammond, Sandra Bezic, and Dick Button | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Olympic Commentators - Tom Hammond, Sandra Bezic, and Dick Button

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Dick Button is the GREATEST thing in the otherwise-pitiful NBC figure skating coverage.

I LOVE YOU, DICK! WILL YOU BE MY VALETINE???
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Kathleen said:
I agree......this trio leaves a lot to be desired.......together.

Tom Hammond.........useless. I just don't like his voice. I thought Verne Lundquist was awesome!

Dick Button.......well, he was Dick Button, LOL. He doesn't come across as negative, but I'm probably just used to him after all of these years. I appreciate his comments....and negative or positive, they are usually right.

Sandra Bezic........I appreciate her knowledge and I enjoy WHAT she has to say.......it's just that she LOOKS like she'd rather be anywhere but there.....she looks like she's got a pole up her butt and someone should tell her a smile and a little animation goes a long way!!!!!!

Can't wait for Scott to start.........yeah, he can get a bit excited, but that's OK. :biggrin:

OK --

Yes! Verne Lundquist was excellent! Great personality, friendly, articulate. Bring him back!!

Dick Button is usually right on the money with his comments. While I do not always agree with him, I appreciate his insights.

Sorry to keep criticizing Bezic, but she is really does look as though she would rather be anywhere but Turino. And that know-it-all attitude. UGH.
 

Jane2

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 31, 2004
I did not realize until tonight, how much Sandra Bezic drives me crazy!
Who were the guys on Eurosport?
They were good. :agree:
Sandra made some comments tonight, I can't remember what, but since I listened to the audio on eurosport this afternoon, I knew the outcome...so I caught it a few times....she was way wrong on a few of her predictions.:rofl:

I remember liking Vern. :agree:
 

rob43

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
I love Tracey WIlson- she's so knowledgeable and manages to someone speak demurely as opposed to blabbering over the music. Plus she's calm.

I too think Nancy would be a good pick- maybe not the best speaker in the bunch but when she did Lifetime coverage I was really pleasantly surprised by how good she was at pointing out things about the tech elements and program construction.

Dick is Dick- I like him but he needs a foil (which Gannon has become adept at).

Can take or leave Hamilton but he pissed me off mightily in '02.

Bezic was a great choreographer but I really dislike her as a commentator- always seems to be about her (maybe its just her inflection when saying 'I' but something grates on me.
 

Serena

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Sandra Bezic annoyed me so much last night. :banging: Pet/Tikh is not one of my favorite pairs, but her comments were uncalled for. What did they do to make her hate them so much? Her criticisms weren't neutral- she was ripping them apart and enjoying every minute of it. I do agree with some of her criticisms, but there were other pairs who also screwed up, and she wasn't as snarky with them. I have no problem with her making the criticisms, it's how she made them.
 

sk8addict

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
here nyou go again

SkateFan4Life said:
Last night was the opening telecast of Olympic figure skating, the pair's short program. And the trio in the broadcast booth for NBC was Tom Hammond, Sandra Bezic, and Dick Button.

May I respectfully say to NBC - "What were you thinking of, guys?" Hammond comes across as stiff and completely lacking in personality, Bezic is as opinionated, snobby, and arrogant as ever, and Dick Button looked like the token member of the AARP (American Association of Retired People) who seemed a bit tired and out of his element. As much as I admire Dick Button, perhaps the time has come for him to retire from these types of marathon assignments.

When the camera first panned to this trio, none of them were smiling. It was clear that there wasn't exactly great chemistry among them, and Bezic was hard pressed to smile at the cameras. As usual, she corrected Button once or twice, and he returned the favor. Touche!

IMHO, one of the best trios the American television networks has ever assembled was Verne Lundquist, Tracy Wilson, and Scott Hamilton. This trio obviously liked and respected each other, both professionally and personnaly, and their wonderful chemistry came through in every assignment they undertook. Their enthusiasm, articulate commentary, and "good vibes" made watching and listening to them a pleasure, at least to me.

And now we have two weeks of Hammond/Bezic/Button. Definitely, I'm using the MUTE button!
Excuse me but Dick Button is still the best analyst of figure skating that there is. I applaud nbc for bringing him in. Sandra is opinated. I would have thought you of all people would appreciate that in an analyst since you are so opinated yourself. Do you mean to say you prefer Terry Gannon the talking head who can't keep quite while people are skating? Can't you start a thread this is positive? You seem to thrive on the negative & getting fans upset with one another.
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Serena said:
Sandra Bezic annoyed me so much last night. :banging: Pet/Tikh is not one of my favorite pairs, but her comments were uncalled for. What did they do to make her hate them so much? Her criticisms weren't neutral- she was ripping them apart and enjoying every minute of it. I do agree with some of her criticisms, but there were other pairs who also screwed up, and she wasn't as snarky with them. I have no problem with her making the criticisms, it's how she made them.

She was ripping apart all of the Russian pairs b/c she was a mediocre pairs skater herself who never won a darn thing!!!! There I said it! For someone so knowledgable about skating to rip apart Russian pairs who (even she conceded) actually *know* how to skate unlike the Chinese pairs. Heck, almost all the skaters in the competition were better skaters than the Chinese: Dube & Davison, the Germans, I&B etc.

I don't hate the Chinese pairs at all, but when I see coverage that is overly biased for one group and makes them out to be so much better than another, I really start to dislike these skaters even if they have nothing to do with the propaganda.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
sk8addict said:
Excuse me but Dick Button is still the best analyst of figure skating that there is. I applaud nbc for bringing him in. Sandra is opinated. I would have thought you of all people would appreciate that in an analyst since you are so opinated yourself. Do you mean to say you prefer Terry Gannon the talking head who can't keep quite while people are skating? Can't you start a thread this is positive? You seem to thrive on the negative & getting fans upset with one another.

I have always been a fan of Dick Button :bow: but IMHO the all-time best Olympic commentating trio was Verne Lundquist, Tracy Wilson, and Scott Hamilton. They had a wonderful chemistry and worked so well together.

As for your comments on my "thriving on the negative & getting fans upset with one another", give me a break. I am not responsible for anybody's reactions but my own. Believe me, I read some posts at Golden Skate that irritate me, but I usually refrain from blasting back at the person who wrote them. On the other hand, I can't believe the reaction to the thread I started on Sasha's reaction to Michelle's withdrawal. Apparently, there are numerous people who share my opinion on the subject, while others, of course, do not.

And as for your comments about my starting some "positive threads", are you serious? Do you have any idea how many threads I have started here?? I suggest that you read some of them. The vast majority of them are positive, believe it or not.
 
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Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Country
United-States
Tonight I just about spewed my drink all over when I heard Scott squawking during the men's SP. Uncle Dick was left in the background. :mad: :mad:

Dee
 

orchid

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Jane2 said:
I did not realize until tonight, how much Sandra Bezic drives me crazy!
Who were the guys on Eurosport?
They were good. :agree:
Sandra made some comments tonight, I can't remember what, but since I listened to the audio on eurosport this afternoon, I knew the outcome...so I caught it a few times....she was way wrong on a few of her predictions.:rofl:

I remember liking Vern. :agree:

Huh???

...and some complain about Sandra's commmentary.

I
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
SkateFan4Life said:
Last night was the opening telecast of Olympic figure skating, the pair's short program. And the trio in the broadcast booth for NBC was Tom Hammond, Sandra Bezic, and Dick Button.

May I respectfully say to NBC - "What were you thinking of, guys?" Hammond comes across as stiff and completely lacking in personality, Bezic is as opinionated, snobby, and arrogant as ever, and Dick Button looked like the token member of the AARP (American Association of Retired People) who seemed a bit tired and out of his element. As much as I admire Dick Button, perhaps the time has come for him to retire from these types of marathon assignments.

When the camera first panned to this trio, none of them were smiling. It was clear that there wasn't exactly great chemistry among them, and Bezic was hard pressed to smile at the cameras. As usual, she corrected Button once or twice, and he returned the favor. Touche!

IMHO, one of the best trios the American television networks has ever assembled was Verne Lundquist, Tracy Wilson, and Scott Hamilton. This trio obviously liked and respected each other, both professionally and personnaly, and their wonderful chemistry came through in every assignment they undertook. Their enthusiasm, articulate commentary, and "good vibes" made watching and listening to them a pleasure, at least to me.

And now we have two weeks of Hammond/Bezic/Button. Definitely, I'm using the MUTE button!


I think you carry your angst towards Sandra Bezic from the Salt Lake City Olympics fiasco. At some point you have to let it go!!! The past is the past. I think Sandra took some time off from the figure skating world until the dust settled over that last skating drama. I am sure she said things at the time in the heat of the moment that she may have realized later best left unsaid. She seemed a little stiff and not quite comfortable with her other commentators. On the other hand, Tracy Wilson seemed quite at home at NBC.

I am quite happy with Barb Underhill and Paul Martini and Mark Lee (a CBC award winning journalist) reporting on the CBC. They are doing a great job. Maybe you need to tune into the CBC - if you are able.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Ladskater said:
I think you carry your angst towards Sandra Bezic from the Salt Lake City Olympics fiasco. At some point you have to let it go!!! The past is the past. I think Sandra took some time off from the figure skating world until the dust settled over that last skating drama. I am sure she said things at the time in the heat of the moment that she may have realized later best left unsaid. She seemed a little stiff and not quite comfortable with her other commentators. On the other hand, Tracy Wilson seemed quite at home at NBC.

I am quite happy with Barb Underhill and Paul Martini and Mark Lee (a CBC award winning journalist) reporting on the CBC. They are doing a great job. Maybe you need to tune into the CBC - if you are able.

I thought Tracy Wilson is an excellent figure skating commentator. NBC has used her occasionally to explain the new COP scoring system. She was concise, precise, and a pleasure to watch. Too bad she wasn't hired for the regular broadcasting duties. Oh, well.

We do not have access to CBC, but I'm sure that Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini are very good commentators; I recall hearing them commentate occasionally on CBS (I think), and they did a good job.
 

dutchherder

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Button makes skating better!

I think Dick Button has continued to improve figure skating long after he left the ice. He picks an element that many skaters are performing subpar and makes an issue of it. The interesting thing is that over the next few years, those elements seem to improve. Remember when he was critical of how many of the ladies were not turning out their knees on layback spins? Not long after that, layback positions began to improve. I'm betting in the next few years we will see fewer "tush pushes" in death spirals and less frantic arm movements during men's programs, IMHO.

:bow:
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
After watching and recording all of last night's NBC coverage of the men's long program, with Tom Hammond, Sandra Bezic, Scott Hamilton, and Dick Button in the broadcast booth, I have to say that I was surprised and pleased at how well they all worked together. I thought this quartet has meshed very well, and they worked harmoniously.

And, after all of the criticism I've written about Sandra Bezic, her work with the men's long program has gone a long way to change my opinion of her ability to commentate figure skating. She was articulate, intelligent, precise, and - nice. I thought she did a fine job, and I am happy to say so.

Their comments concerning Plushenko's long program pretty much mirrored my impression, in that Plushenko did numerous powerful jumps, but there wasn't much between those jumps. As Dick Button said, "Evgeny does a quad, then waves his hands around, then skates to the end of the rink, does a triple axel, and waves his hand around again." So much for choreography. They all felt that what Evgeny skated was a lot of jumps, but it wasn't a "program".

Sandra had some positive words to say about many of the skaters, and when she did criticize a skater, she did so kindly. In speaking about one of the men (sorry, but I can't remember which one - it's on tape) she spoke of her experience in choreographing Brian Boitano's 1988 Olympic programs. She said (to paraphrase), "I watched Brian and Linda Leaver (his coach) work together, and it was obvious that they never left anything to chance. They took care of everything, and Brian was trained to skate a perfect program."

Good job!
 

Eeyora

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I can't take Bezic. I thought she was rather harsh on the Chinese pairs. she acted at times as if they were barbaric.

Dick is the man.
 

nghtvsn

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
I don't know how much I like any of them anymore really. Scott Hamilton is just to biased at times and he's total freakout at the pairs in SLC was way way out of bounds for a commentator, plus I really don't think he is very schooled in the CoP system.

Bezic is occassionaly nice to listen to simply because she will you what she really thinks about a program although sometimes she can go on and on and really beat the bush to death and then bury it. Also, I'm not sure how schooled she is in the new system as well.

Dick Button has been great to listen to throughout the years but his "isms" are getting used over and over again thus ruining his commentary but he does seem the most balanced so I'd probably keep him in the booth although I doubt he knows much of the details about the new system.

Tom Hammond being in the booth is like putting Dick Enberg in the booth during a tennis tournament. Boring boring and people I'm sick of listening to.

Terry Gannon would have been great to hear because he does less interrupting than when he first started and is actually refreshing to listen to even though he'd probably have no input on how the system actually works.

Susie Wynne is my favorite commentator because she provides truly insightful commentary and is "fair and balanced" and I think actually keeps up with the new system and how it works imo.

Tracy Wilson needs to quit commentating when I hear her trying to called the Program component scores the marks formely known as the "artistic impression" marks. There has never been a real AI mark and that is such a stickler with me because they change to it presentation and ppl still referred to it in that ambiguous term and now Wilson is referring to the PCS as AI at these games. What a lunkhead.

Peggy Fleming is also nice to listen to but really not much insightful or interesting commentary and I doubt she is aware of the details of the new system.

My booth would be:

Bezic, Button, Gannon, Wynne

Oh and heck heck no to Paul wylie and that male pairs skater (forget his name atm)
 

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I don't mind each one individually, but I don't understand why Hammond is there...........there's too many, it's a wonder they don't trip over each other, vocally speaking. If I had my druthers, I'd stick with Scott and Sandra.......42
 

dutchherder

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
I guess I don't remember what Sandra Bezic said in Salt Lake that has everyone fired up. Refresh my memory??
 
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